Rev. Dr. Julien Olivier, Chaplain at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital gives a prayer to the guests of First Parish Church Sunday evening for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day gathering.
Ryan McBride/ Staff photographer

DOVER — Had he lived, Martin Luther King would have been 84 years old this month.

Sunday evening, at the First Parish Congregational Church, Dover's citizens celebrated that birthday with a program “We Still Have a Dream: Challenging Ourselves to Live It.”

The program is sponsored by the Dover Area Religious Association (DARLA) with the assistance of the Dover Cooperative Ministries whose members are lay people representing their congregations.

“This is the 50th anniversary of Dr. King's famous I have a dream speech,” said Reverend Michael Bennett, Pastor of the First Parish Church, and my first year in Dover. I am so impressed with the community and this tradition which is fostered by the DARLA.”

In August of 1963, King was standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. as he spoke to over 250,000 people. The assemblage joined together at the nation's capital as part of the March On Washington For Jobs and Freedom event.

This was an address that made history and changed the United States forever.

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Ryan McBride/Staff photographer
Abigail, left, and Emily Kaye of the Temple Israel Singers sing to guests of the First Parish Church during the Martin Luther King Jr. gathering Sunday evening.

The March came as a part of the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement in the United States and was strongly influential in the passing by Congress of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The early and mid -1960s were tumultuous times as the opposing ideologies of King and Malcolm X came to the fore, with King holding that integration into society and equality for both blacks and whites was the proper path, while X advocated a separate and total economic and political independence for his people.

In the speech Dr. King gave a nod to the more militant followers of Malcom X and his Black Muslim followers by saying “We must not satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” He continued, “Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”

A large crowd gathered at the Church Sunday evening and listened and participated in the service recognizing King and his work.

After a welcome by Pastor Bennett, Emily and Abigail Kaye of South Berwick, sang a duet entitled Laugh At All My Dreams, by Debbie Friedman. The girls, both students at Marshwood High School were quite familiar with the impact King has had.

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Ryan McBride/Staff photographer
Dover Middle School Singers sing to guests of the First Parish Church during the Martin Luther King Jr. gathering Sunday evening.

“I appreciate that he had so much to do with stopping segregation,” said 14-year-old Emily, while 12-year-old Abigail commented, “He helped improve racial relations, making everybody equal.”

The Kayes are members of Dover's Temple Israel and were accompanied on the guitar by their mother Mary.

Dover's Bruce and Donna McAdam attended as they have every year. “I remember when it was a City of Dover event years ago,” said Donna. We like it this way as well,” added Bruce.

While thinking of the discussion that was to take place later, where those in attendance would share their “dream,” Donna expressed her dream of more affordable housing for teens transitioning to adulthood. “Those youngsters need inexpensive places to live while they are joining the workforce,” she said. “That is my dream.”

Alex Chase, a 15 year old freshman at Dover High School had learned much about King. “I find him to be very inspirational,” said the Congregational Church Confirmand, “he showed us that there is no difference between blacks and whites.”

As they program progressed, a video was shown of King's speech once again demonstrating to all his prowess as on orator, as he was stoic reading from his notes at the beginning, then as he continued, his demeanor became animated and the crowd at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool responded to his now almost extemporaneous urgings.

Although many of those assembled were quite familiar with the speech, they laughed, smiled and frowned during the 17 minutes which he spoke, applauding at the end.

Reverend MarenTirabassi Pastor of the Union Congregational Church of Madbury spoke of “How Martin Luther King, Jr can focus our dreams for community.”

Musical selections were also given by the Dover Middle School Chorus of “Bring Us Peace' directed by Rob Finch and the Dover High School Chorus some 50 strong led by director Michele Boulanger. They presented “I Dream a World and “We Shall Overcome” which those in attendance were invited to join in singing.

Rabbi Sam Seicol of Temple Israel was attending his second MLK Day in Dover and commented “of course we have come a long way in fifty years, but there is still a lot of work to be done in the areas of advocacy, support, caring and understanding.”

Barack Obama will be sworn in for a second term as President of the United States on January 20th. Obama has commented that this month of his inauguration marks the 50th anniversary of the “I have dream” speech as well as the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's signing the Emancipation Proclamation.

Obama refers to King as, “One of 2 people I admire more than anybody in American history, the other being Abraham Lincoln.”

He names Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. as, “The only reason it's possible for me to be inaugurated.”